Investors fret, drop stocks into the red for the week

Saturday

Apr 26, 2014 at 12:01 AMApr 26, 2014 at 9:17 AM

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks fell sharply yesterday, dragged down by disappointing quarterly results from Amazon and Ford, among others. Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine also weighed on the market.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell sharply yesterday, dragged down by disappointing quarterly results from Amazon and Ford, among others. Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine also weighed on the market.

Worried investors sold risky assets and moved into traditional havens: bonds, gold and stocks that pay high dividends, such as utilities.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 15.21 points, to 1,863.40. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 140.19 points, to 16,361.46 and the Nasdaq composite lost 72.78 points, or 1.8 percent, to 4,075.56.

Yesterday’s sell-off dropped the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq into the red for the week.

Technology stocks, which have been volatile for the past two months, were once again a hotbed of selling.

Amazon, the world’s largest online store, sank $33.32, or 10 percent, to $303.83. Late Thursday, Amazon reported an increase in its first-quarter profit, but it also said spending on investments likely will lead to an operating loss in the next quarter.